Be on your guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: he leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Mark 13:33-34
It might be my age (which keeps going up for some reason) or the fact that, after 26 years, my husband and I are soon leaving North Carolina to return to the Great State, but I’ve experienced a sense of urgency lately.
The verse we used when we left Texas in 1997 was …
We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
Within four years of moving to NC, God doubled our nest from two to four children. That called for the task of equipping those perpetually-turning-toward-the-world little rascals to love and serve God.
We had friends and neighbors with zero interest in God. They needed to see evidence of God's grace and mercy—always a challenging assignment.
But somewhere along the line, I'd let an insidious undercurrent of apathy set in about doing those good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Let someone else handle that, Lord.
Mark 13:33 warns, Be on your guard! Be alert!
In fiction, an exclamation point is rarely used. When it is, the character must have a reason for the elevated pitch of their voice.
God has good reason to shout. Danger lies ahead for those who aren’t watching and working on the tasks he’s assigned when he returns—an immutable fact.
The Message puts it bluntly: You don't want him showing up announced with you asleep on the job. (vs 36)
Something else to consider about our assignments: Are we moving from a Spirit-filled watchfulness to a spirit of covetousness because, we’d really rather perform the tasks that God has given someone else?
Let's live with an optimistic urgency about his return and remain awake and watchful as we complete our tasks. Today could be the day.
Points to Ponder
✶What spiritual task(s) has he assigned you to do?
✶What degree of urgency do you have about his return?
✶When have you wanted to be assigned what he's given another?
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